‘Ikea reactionware’ promises to democratise organic chemistry

Producing hard-to-get organic chemicals is now as simple as assembling Ikea furniture, according to a group of chemists at the University of Glasgow. The team’s latest adventure into 3D-printed reaction-ware spawned small modules that slot together to do 12 process steps. Team leader Lee Cronin foresees organic chemists developing modules that enable non-specialists to easily make substances experts might now have to slave away at to synthesise. ‘The chemist now becomes a digital designer,’ Cronin tells Chemistry World .